Here Comes That constitutional Showdown That Has Been Looming For Six Years


I think I had a premonition on this one...

I was browsing the presidential "Executive Orders" at whitehouse.gov today, and then, a few hours later...

Bush Directive Increases Sway on Regulation.

UPDATE: Paul Keil explains what's going on in simple terms:

That's right, each agency (like, for instance, the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration) will now have a politically appointed babysitter to make sure that regulations aren't too onerous for corporations. In fact, the directive ensures that regulation is the absolute last resort: "in deciding whether to issue regulations, federal agencies must identify 'the specific market failure' or problem that justifies government intervention."

"Business groups welcomed the executive order," the Times notes, in a terrific understatement.

And from the TPM comments, an even more succinct explanation:

Hitler did this. He installed an officer in every agency to monitor party loyalty. It was called the Gestapo.

Yup. And this is called Fascism.